Marin Voice: Let's be honest about Marin's public pension debate

Exterior detail of the upper floors of the Civic Center designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in San Rafael, Calif. on Friday, October 12, 2012.The celebration for 50 years of being in the building was kicked off with a special cake in the Library, which opened it's doors in this location on October 13, 1962.(Special to the IJ/Jocelyn Knight)

GET THE FACTS STRAIGHT. Cesar Lagleva and Angelo Sacheli (Marin Voice, Feb. 2) use "growing economic inequality" as both their argument for no pension reform and their attack on both Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans and the Reed initiative.

Their claims are false and misleading and need to be corrected to further an honest debate about our growing pension crisis.

Claim: There is economic inequality.

Facts: In Marin County, the average public employee salary is around $87,500. Median per capita income for a Marin County resident was $56,000 in 2012. (Median county incomes are not available so I used the average income; the results are roughly comparable.) The average county employee's annual retirement check is $28,000, but this number includes those employed by the county for only a few years and those who retired many years ago.

Recent and future retirees will receive much larger sums.

In comparison, the average Social Security check is $14,000 annually.

Claim: "What we need is not to break promises."

Facts: The Reed initiative clearly states that any pensions/benefits already earned by both active employees and retirees would be protected, i.e. vested. Only unearned, i.e. future, pensions/benefits would be negotiable and subject to collective bargaining, as are all other terms of employment.

Claim: "Here in Marin, independent analysis of our public pension program has shown it has a 'clean bill of health'"

Facts: The "clean bill of health" in Marin County Employees Retirement Association's audit simply told us that the numbers, as presented, are accurate and that MCERA is following proper procedures. It was in no way an endorsement of the plan's financial health, which is still weak.

Claim: "These same ideological forces always look to the middle class as a solution to any budget problems."

Facts: Since the terms "middle class" and "working families" apply equally to county employees and the majority of Marin taxpayers, this statement by Lagleva and Sacheli is utter nonsense.

Facts: CSPP has never attacked the county's miscellaneous workers. We state in our welcoming letter to new supporters: "CSPP's grievance is not with the rank-and-file employee of the county. It is with the exorbitant salaries and pensions being paid to the top few percent of county workers."

Claim: What Mayor Chuck Reed's pension initiative and CSPP are advocating "will result in more economic insecurity for middle class families and even more inequality."

Facts: The Pension Reform Act of 2014 would allow use of a vital tool for a city or county in financial distress. It provides more financial flexibility and it might reduce layoffs. In addition, the average taxpayers and their children and grandchildren should not inherit this flawed system and staggering debt.

Growing economic inequity has nothing to do with pensions. That claim is a sham.

In 2012 (most current data) there were 2,753 county employees. Of these, 614 employees grossed over $100,000 a year in salary and 12 earned over $200,000. This does not include overtime, sick pay, comp time, bonuses, health care coverage, employer (taxpayer) contributions to pension plans, and even employee contributions to pensions made by the employer (taxpayer).

Adding in those costs, sends the total cost to soaring heights. These figures reflect that almost 25 percent of county employees make over $100,000. Perhaps Lagleva and Sacheli should focus on income equality within the county workforce rather than attacking those who pay the salaries.

Fact: That is income inequality.

Jody Morales of Lucas Valley is the founder and president of the Citizens for Sustainable Pension Plans, a Marin-based public pension reform group.